ELearning/Course design/Instructional events
Course structures, or pedagogical models, each contain a general set of teaching activities and/or learning events that support the processes of learning. Please refer to the Course structure article. Within individual learning modules or units, most models have in common five learning "events" to support the process (Dick, Carey & Carey, 2005). Note how the sequence is customized according to the structure. Merrill (2013) advocates a problem-centered approach to learning, with four learning events. This model is generally similar to the traditional five events, although there are differences.
| Linear Structure | Experiential Learning Cycle | Problem-Centered Linear Structure |
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These events have been condensed from Gagnès (1970) original nine events of instruction (figure 1 below). Gagnè identified the mental conditions for learning, based on the information processing model of the mental events that occur when learners are presented with various stimuli. His nine steps were created to correspond with and address these mental processes (Kruse, 2008).
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| 1. Gagnès original nine events of instruction |
Each learning event and its issues are described here. The instructor/designer wants to take each into account and determine specific plans. A compilation of instructional, application, and assessment activities are described in the next article.
Preinstructional Activities
Pre-instructional activities encompass Gagnès first three events:
- Gain attention and motivate learners
- Describe the learning objectives in plain language
- Describe and promote recall of prerequisite knowledge and skills
1. Gain attention and motivate learners
Keller (2010) has created a four-part model to deal with the problem of student motivation, called the ARCS model: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. Gaining attention and demonstrating relevance are most apt to this preinstructional phase.
Gain Attention : Capturing their interest. Think arousal, curiosity, focus, and sensation seeking on one end of a continuum and boredom, distraction, and negativity on the other and we begin to grasp the essence of attention. How do we achieve one set of sensations while avoiding the other? Keller provides us with two tools:
- A1: Perceptual Arousal : What can I do to capture their interest? Reflexive reactions to stimuli: almost any sudden or unexpected change in the environment will elicit attention. This is the first, and fleeting, step in the attention process and needs to be followed by the next stage of arousal
- A2: Inquiry Arousal : How can I stimulate an attitude of inquiry? Introducing a problem situation that can be resolved only by acquiring necessary knowledge. Ask questions, evoke a sense of mystery and awe, and use progressive disclosure, all in the service of arousing curiosity and exploratory behavior.
Demonstrate Relevance : Whether consciously or unconsciously, people presented with information wonder, "How does this relate to my life?" Relevance refers to those things people perceive as instrumental in satisfying personal needs and wants, including curiosity, consequence, and the accomplishment of career and other goals.
- R1: Goal Orientation : How can I best meet my learner's needs? (Do I know their needs?) Setting goals and working to achieve them is a key component of relevance. Relate course goals to students' personal and professional goals; use authentic examples and assignments taken from real life; help students make the connection between the content and their lives.
- R3: Familiarity : How can I tie the instruction to the learners' experiences? Just as people crave novelty, we also take comfort in the familiar. We tend to be most interested in content that has some connections to our experiences and interests. Use personal pronouns and people's names; help students connect with the content on a personal level; ask for their stories; include and confirm their preexisting knowledge and experience.
2. Inform learners of the module-level learning objectives
By listing them, you help students focus on achieving these important outcomes. Objectives also help the instructor/designer prioritize learning content : what to leave in, what to leave out. While important, motivating learners (and often instructors) to pause and consider learning objectives still proves challenging. One way to increase attention for learners is to use a narrative preview, including how learners will use what they learn, of the module to describe learning objectives/outcomes rather than simply listing them. Please refer to the Goals of instruction article.
3. Inform learners of prerequisite knowledge and skills and promote recall
This provides students a reality check, describing the "floor" for the unit of instruction. You are informing students what they need to know and do before entering the unit, and what you will not be teaching. By listing prerequisite knowledge and skills, you are promoting recall of students' current knowledge and also the relevant mental contexts in which new content can be integrated. This also serves as a review of previous learning to be carried forward into the current unit. For problem-centered instruction, students are explicitly asked to recall existing knowledge and skill as a foundation for new skills. Initial discussions are an excellent venue for this recall to take lace.
Specific preinstructional activities
Refer to this page for an explanatory list of preinstructional activities.
Content acquisition
The task here is to determine exactly what needs to be presented and/or obtained that will enable students to meet specified learning objectives. Whether content is delivered to or obtained by learners is perhaps one of the clearest demarcations between behavioral/cognitivist and constructivist/connectivist pedagogies. In practice, however, it is useful and desirable to mix and match approaches as you move students toward more indepth and sophisticated levels of knowledge and skill.
Select and create content
Content presentation comes in numerous forms:
- Lecture (video, audio, multimedia)
- Interview (video, audio, text-based)
- Reading (instructor notes, articles, textbook, books, web pages)
- Reading to students (video, audio)
- Demonstration of a skill to be learned
- Media (amateur or professional educational videos, documentaries, field trips, guided tours, travelogues, demonstrations, overviews, etc.)
Here are several important steps to take as you select and create course content:
- Defining content for educational and training purposes is accomplished through content, job, and/or performance analysis, whether by the instructor/designer, subject matter experts, book and course publishers, or other means. Content analysis seeks to uncover the "manifest and latent content of a body of knowledge" (Krippendorff, 2013), which can be quite broad or narrow. Job analysis looks at the requirements of job tasks and the necessary knowledge and skills required to execute them. Performance analysis observes performers as they carry out a task or routine, seeking to articulate the mental as well as physical processes involved. See Front-end analysis for an indepth discussion.
- Focus on your learning objectives and prerequisite knowledge and skills so you will more likely exclude content directed below (floor) or beyond (ceiling) your objectives. The primary error in this undertaking is including too much information, especially when much of it is tangentially or not related to the learning objectives. This can be a difficult charge for subject matter experts, especially in lower-level courses, because it's all so interesting and exciting!
- What information is required for students to reach mastery as defined by your objectives? We can divide information into five types (Clark & Mayer, 2006):
- Facts : specific and unique data or instances
- Concepts : categories and generalizations inferred from multiple specific instances
- Processes : flow of events or activities
- Procedures : tasks performed with step-by-step actions
- Principles : rules or laws describing the functioning of natural phenomena, often described in if-then and cause-effect relationships (Smith & Ragan, 1999)
- Introduce new information in manageable blocks (segmentation, chunking), explaining how new and already addressed material is related. Remember that chunking is a natural occurrence in the brain and forms the basis of expertise in which multiple elements of knowledge are grouped together as a single element (mental model, schema) easily processed within working memory (Clark et. al., 2006).
- Progressive disclosure, presenting details as they become relevant, is a useful tool for introducing material in manageable chunks. Long a staple of user interface design to mask complexity, progressive disclosure can be seen in multiple applications (Nielsen, 2006). The same principles can be used when providing instruction, serving as both a segmentation and motivational tool. See Course building for the mechanics of progressive disclosure.
- Higher-order commands are hidden from view until they become relevant to the task: The Print command in most software initially displays only the most common options such as selecting the number of copies and print range. Additional buttons must be clicked to access additional options like page setup, print quality, image handling, etc.
- Web sites frequently display just a few options with larger categories. When a category is clicked, the user is taken to pages with a larger set of options. To checkout and pay for purchases, users are taken through a series of small screens rather than confronted with all steps at once.
- Hypertext provides a simple implementation of progressive disclosure: higher-level pages contain higher-level concepts and simplified descriptions, and lower-level pages fill in the details for those users who want to know everything.
- Use illustrations, diagrams, demonstrations, model solutions, scenarios, case studies, sample performances, etc. so that the intended scope is adequately revealed.
- Determine the number of examples necessary for the appropriate level of learning, and include non-examples, explaining why they are wrong. Merrill (2013) prescribes at least three demonstrations of increasing difficulty.
- For lectures, consider the different types of lecturers and decide which you want to be and then prepare accordingly (Refer to Brown & Manogue, 2001).
- Specific learning management tools will be more or less useful depending on the domain of learning involved (e.g., cognitive, psychomotor).
Help students acquire content
Constructivist and connectivist learning theories emphasize the need for individuals to locate required information on their own and construct personal knowledge structures. This may or may not be appropriate to the learning situation, but is a desirable preference. Consider how students will obtain the necessary information; contemplate the skills of the learner, the appropriateness of the method to the content, and the advisability of using a variety of methods and resources.
Content acquisition can involve:
- Student research (using keywords, following links)
- Guided searches (e.g., webquests)
- Student-produced content
- Student-conducted interview
- Experiential learning cycle (do, reflect, abstract, apply)
- Learning games
- Participation in online communities
- Discussions
- Correspondence
From a motivational perspective, asking students to seek out information for themselves taps into their attitude of inquiry you established early on.
Specific content acquisition activities
Refer to this page for an explanatory list of 17 specific content presentation and acquisition activities.
Learner application and engagement
One of the oldest "best practices" in teaching is "emphasizing time on task" (You, 2010). This is a best practice for many reasons, not least of which is events at the neuronal level deep within the brain. New networks of neurons are formed with learning, and must be reinforced for them to take on longevity; otherwise, they fade in quick order. Any form of practice and manipulation reinforces the emergent network, and as increasingly complex practices are added, the stronger the network grows. Merrill (2013) prescribes at least three practice or application scenarios moving from simple to complex.
One of the most powerful components of the learning process is that of practice with feedback. Knowing the results of one's effort both reinforces correct responses and redirects wrong ones. In fact, there is an "error correction" system based in the anterior cortex of the brain (see Physical basis of learning).
Practice can come in many forms:
- writing down or keyboarding everything students remember from the just-completed reading assignments
- answering factual questions
- answering application, conceptual, what-if and other questions to encourage higher-order thinking
- working through problems (whole task using fading)
- matching terms and their definitions
- games (e.g., recall games such as Jeopardy, actions games that enhance attentin and response time)
- using a rubric to construct an argument
- using a rubric to analyze a piece of work (written, multi-media, physical), one's own or others
- expressing oneself and responding to others in a discussion
- answering analysis and critique questions
- reflective thinking in a personal journal
- self-testing
An important concern in determining the appropriate participation activities is the need to vary them. Variability was mentioned as a motivator, and it is relevant here. Even the most sophisticated activity, repeated again and again, loses its strength. This is one argument against overly rigid adherence of specific models (see Course development introduction).
Specific application activities
Refer to this page for an explanatory list of 55 specific learner application and engagement activities.
Assessment/Integration
Student assessment attempts to measure and quantify student learning. By using assignments, reflection, discussions, self-tests, exams, and quizzes we ask students to demonstrate how well they understand the concepts and possess the skills and competencies we are trying to develop. "Learning occurs when learners do more than acquire a new skill. Learning requires a modification of mental models and an integration of the new skill into the skills learners have already acquired" (Merrill, 2013). It's helpful to think of "assessment" as any student activity in which they demonstrate understanding. They constitute ways of confirming and/or developing student mastery. Each is important because it helps the instructor form an accurate, current picture of student learning and provides crucial feedback to help students assess their own progress. What we do with assessment results is another matter.
Assessment purpose
Assessment has at least three complimentary purposes (Bennett, 2011; Garfield et al., 2011):
- Assessment for learning : using assessment results as feedback for further learning
- Assessment as learning : using standards and rubrics as tools for analysis, understanding, and application
- Assessment of learning : summarizing student learning at a point in time
The relationship between assessment purpose and assessment type:
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If you agree, and we hope you do, using assessment results solely as a grading tool disregards a valuable learning resource. One of the seven best practices of undergraduate education, "time on task," or time spent engaged with learning tasks, contributes directly to learning (Bigatel, 2012; Romero & Barberá, 2011; Shea et. al, 2004; You, 2011). Arum & Roksa (2011) assert "studying and doing homework has stronger and more widespread positive effects on a range of academic, cognitive, and affective outcomes in higher education than almost any other involvement or environmental measure." When we use assessment for, as, and of learning, we add to time on task in meaningful ways.
Alignment
"Is what we are teaching being tested, and did the teaching do what it was supposed to do?" Anderson (2002) asks these questions using the illustration in Figure 3 to demonstrate alignment. All three sides of the triangle (A, B, C) need to be aligned for proper instruction and learning. Alignment has been identified as one of the ten "best practices" in instructional design (Department of Labor, 2011; You, 2010). "Simply put, instructors may have lofty goals, high-quality content, and even advanced instructional designs, but most instructors tend to focus their assessment strategies on what is easy to measure rather than on what is important" (Reeves, 2006).
The Quality Matters rubric (2011), a widely used evaluation tool for online courses, also emphasizes the need for aligning all parts of a course, including assessments:
Assessment and Measurement: 3.1 The types of assessments selected measure the stated learning objectives and are consistent with course activities and resources.
Every component must be aligned to the same learning goals to be effective. Without it, a course becomes a jumble of tangents with no real direction or purpose. This is why most of the original instructional design models ask designers to create assessments second only after establishing learning goals (Dick & Carey, 2005; Mager, 1997; Smith & Regan, 1999). What a sure-fire way to know what to include as content!
Issues of assessment
Before creating assessments, we need to become cognizant of several relevant issues. With this background knowledge, we are able to create a variety of effective assessments instead of relying on what we have already experienced in our own learning endeavors.
Ways of knowing
While training most often focuses on the transfer of knowledge and skill, much of what college provides is cognitive development. According to Davison (2011), this development is based on ways of knowing, described below. We could say much the same for professional and management development. As you read them, consider the developmental level you are asking students to conquer. Keep in mind that we are not making value judgments, but rather describing levels of understanding and application. This, plus your learning goals (using Bloom's Taxonomy), provide real guidance for the types of assessments you want to use.
- Absolute knowing. Knowledge is viewed as absolute. Knowledge is based on a transmission mode. The instructor transmits, the student receives.
- Transitional knowing. Alternative points of view can enable students to tentatively view some elements of knowledge as uncertain. Students become more active learners and reliance on the instructor starts to recede.
- Independent knowing. Learners start to view their own opinions about knowledge as legitimate. Relationships with peers and authority change as the student becomes more independent and starts to find her own "voice". Students can recognize others' opinions, but find it difficult to pay attention to them at this point.
- Contextual knowing. Independent thought is now inter-related with the thoughts and views of others. It becomes inter-dependent. Experts and others are considered as sources of knowledge, which can be incorporated into the viewpoint of the "knower" and evaluated as evidence and input.
Assessing for Bloom's domains and levels
We identified Bloom's Taxonomy as the "language of learning." It helps us maintain alignment between course components and create targeted learning materials, assignments, and just about everything else to do with learning. Here is a summary look at Bloom's. The ELearning/Foundations section provides a complete review.
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| 3. Bloom's taxonomy |
If we've used Bloom's to describe our learning objectives, we already know the domain and the level of mastery we're asking of students. This is the "criterion" in criterion-referenced tests (Dick & Carey, 2005). With our target identified, the question becomes, "how do I best assess for this domain and level of performance or knowledge?"
In general, non-exam assignments involving writing do the best job of measuring higher levels of knowledge, and observing behavior using scoring rubrics best measures the other domains (Harmon et. al., 2010; Pepple, 2010). Multiple choice and short-answer tests are best used for recognition and recall, the lowest learning level, although carefully constructed items can measure higher mastery levels. Gibbs & Simpson (2004) found that performance on authentic homework is a better predictor of long-term learning than exams, and the "quality of learning" is higher.
Assessing process as well as product
While most assessment practices focus on products or outcomes, learning does not always manifest itself in that way only, but also as a process occurring within the individual or group (Beebe, 2010; Bergström, 2010). Learning how to learn and group decision-making are two examples. To accomplish this, students first need to understand their current approach and track their changes and the results they bring. Documenting their experiences, reactions, and results in reflective journals and group debriefing allow students to arrive at insights that might otherwise be lost.
Instructor feedback, journals and debriefing can speed the process and bring deeper understanding. Journals also provide evidence of the evolution in thinking taking place within the student that objective tests do not. Other instances where process may be as or more important than product include constructing arguments, writing lab reports, design briefs, and proposals (Gibbs & Simpson, 2011). The goal is to move from reproductive learning to productive learning by using reflection and metacognition.
Bergström (2010) describes an example of process-based assessment:
Phase 1 : Beginning the course, students describe their existing knowledge of the subject from the perspective of previous life, work, and study experiences and the instructor provides feedback.
Phase 2 : Midway through the course, students describe their current knowledge in relation to their previous understanding, and the instructor provides feedback.
Phase 3 : Finishing the course, they summarize their learning in relation to where they were at the beginning and midway points; the instructor again provides feedback along with a final judgment and grade.
Other methods of assessing process include the forms of scaffolding (feedback, guidance, or additional instruction) required by the student, motivation or capacity to benefit from assistance, and the ability to transfer what they have learned to more challenging and complex tasks (Poehner, 2011). Keep in mind that you CAN assign grades for these processes; you need only to describe your grading criteria or use a rubric.
Authentic assessment
"Answering questions about the correct way to write is not the same as writing correctly. If you don't measure the phenomenon itself, you're measuring students' ability to recognize the terms" (Smith, 2008).
"Traditional methods of assessment encourage a surface approach to learning. Where these tests are atomistic and decontextualized, authentic assessment is integrated and contextualized into real-world situations" (Gullikers, 2006)
"Learning that individuals do as part of their everyday life reflects a focus on the use of information outside the learning context, where collaboration is the norm and where information is a resource to be used rather than mastered" (Duffy & Kirkley, 2004).
These quotes together summarize the essence of authentic assessment. One, we measure the phenomenon itself; we don't talk about it. Two, we reconstruct the circumstances under which the learning is applied in the real word as much as possible. Three, the experience is integrative. Students, and non-traditional students especially, have knowledge and life experiences they bring to the course they need to integrate with new learning (Smith, 2008).
Davison (2011) suggests assessments can be authentic to:
- a professional practice
- an academic discipline
- a research discipline
- real-life settings
- individual lives
Specific assessment approaches
Creating assessments is addressed in the Learning activities section; click the above link..
Follow-through activities
Gagne' refers to this component as "enhancing retention and transfer" (1970). Here we are asking ourselves what, after all is said and done, do we want students to carry forward with them into their future, and how can we help them do that?
Memory Skills. Memorization is generally not the critical point of learning, but rather to understand concepts, perform verbal, physical and mental tasks, appreciate and advocate for an ideal, and more. If memory is especially important, quality job aids help learners remember as they perform or rehearse. Performance support systems, built into many business and industrial processes, are also common features of the modern workplace. Sometimes mnemonic devices can provide just enough memory support to assist specialists as they carry out critical procedures. In the nuclear safety arena, for example, MAGIC MERV (Figure 4) helps safety specialists remember all the safety parameters that must be accounted for to prevent accidental fission of nuclear material (National Nuclear Security Administration, 2008). On a personal level, I use SPA to remember the seniority of Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
We note how computer and internet use are modifying people's approach to cognitive tasks in general and memorization specifically. Recall the connectivist theory of learning whereby knowledge is said to reside "in the network" and cognitive tasks are shared by human and machine (see Connectivist learning theory). To wit, "the results of a number of empirical studies suggest that when faced with difficult questions, people are primed to think about computers, and that when people expect to have future access to information, they have lower rates of recall of the information itself and enhanced recall instead for where to access it. The internet has become a primary form of external or transactive memory, where information is stored collectively outside ourselves" (OECD, 2012).
Transfer of Learning. Transfer is the application of knowledge and skills learned in one setting or for one purpose to another setting and/or purpose (Gagné et. al., 1993). Using coding syntax learned when programming a simple computer game in ajax and then programming an accounting system on the job using C++, for example. By demonstrating relevance, asking students to work on real-life issues, and allowing a level of self-determination you have already done much to promote learning transfer. Liberman, et. al. (2006) provide three additional strategies instructors can use to promote transfer. Refer to Teaching and Learning activities for more indepth descriptions.
Learning journals are the perfect venue for asking students to summarize their key learning points and consider how their new knowledge fits within and modifies their previous scope of understanding, attitudes, and perceptions (schema modification through metacognition). An example:
- "As a final task for this module, consider how our look at best practices for people with mental illness expands or modifies your understanding of the social worker's role in the life of our clients. Are current policies adequate for this role? How can we hope to address service gaps for this vulnerable population?"
Concluding discussions involve the same metacognitive tasks as the learning journal with the addition of sharing thoughts among group members:
- "Consider how our look at best practices for people with mental illness expands or modifies your understanding of the social worker's role in the life of our clients. Are current policies adequate for this role? How can we hope to address service gaps for this vulnerable population? Share your thoughts with the class in discussion 5, then read others' posts and post a summary of all perspectives."
Cognitive apprenticeship is a concept borrowed from the craft or vocational apprenticeship in which the learner moves from being a dependent observer to becoming an independent practitioner. The stages of apprenticeship from the instructor's point of view include modeling, coaching, scaffolding, fading, and finally encouraging the learner to think and work in new domains. The apprentice is being prepared for problem solving and adaptation of their skills and knowledge to new and different situations:
- "You've learned how to locate useful research articles and informational websites for geophysical processes in coastal regions, including live data. Your task now is to do the same for polar regions. In addition to creating a resource list as you did for coastal regions, I want you to describe your search process : what key words and phrases are you trying and the results you get (productive/unproductive), what websites provide valuable links to additional resources? What are you unable to locate? Create an outline enumerating your search effort."
Specific follow-through activities
Refer to this page for an explanatory list of specific follow-through activities.
Conclusion
Events of instruction help the designer organize individual learning modules. Whether used within a linear, cyclical, or other structure, the five events (pre-instruction, content, application, assessment, and follow-through), need to be included in most every major unit of instruction.
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